Today, with Somalia, we leave Africa behind! It took me about a year and a half to read a book from every African country, and it was an amazing journey. Next week we return to Asia for the last thirty-something countries of the trip!
Ahmed A. Hanghe
Nordic Africa Institute, 1998.
The book contains some seventy-six tales in Somali original and English mirror translation. The short introduction talks about the Somali storytelling tradition, and we get a useful piece about the pronunciation of Somali words and names. Each story comes with comments and footnotes, explaining phrases and customs. The book is divided into chapters by themes, with a short introduction to each chapter. It was a great last book to read from Africa, full of fascinating, thought-provoking stories.
Highlights
One of my favorite tales from the book was that of Huryo és Kabacalaf in which a homely but clever girl eloped with her lover. They were accompanied on the road by the man's best friend, Kabacalaf. Along the way the girl made all kinds of clever comments which her lover didn't get and it made him increasingly annoyed. Kabacalaf, however, understood her well. In the end, when they found a priest, the girl decided to marry Kabacalaf instead. They lived happily ever after, constantly trying to prank each other. Kabacalaf also appeared as a wise man in other tales, such as the one where he helped a friend test two girls to see which girl was smarter.
I liked it that in a tale about evil giants the villains were not defeated by a man, but rather by another, good-hearted giant named Biriir, who thus saved humanity from disaster.
There was a simple but beautiful story about a young man who wanted to marry, but every time he brought home a bride his father ordered him to lift a heavy stone, or he'd not give his blessing. In the end, one bride volunteered to help him, and they lifted the stone together - proving that good marriage is based on cooperation.
Among the animal tales I really liked the one where two donkeys ran away from their master. They soon discovered freedom came with hunger, and one of them returned. The master abused him and beat him, and forced him to tell where the other donkey was hiding. By the time he got there, however, the free donkey had grown sharp horns, and defended himself. That's how the oryx was born.
There were multiple tales about shapeshifters, mostly featuring hyena-people known as qori-ismaris. In some cases they were helpful and honorable, while in others evil and greedy.
Connections
There was a myth about raising the sky; here it was the fault of women pounding their pestles against the sky and making holes that are now stars. There was also a tale about a clever husband who sent a coded message to his wife about his own murder. The fable of the grasshopper and the and there featured a bee and a grasshopper.
The trickster in residence was a man named Cigaal and also Jackal. The latter featured in the (very popular) tale where he cleverly chose his life over his food in the face of a lion.
Where to next?
Yemen!
